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THE PRESS
JULY 27, 2015
Your Voice on the Street: By Stephanie Szozda What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done?
The Press Poll Is performing gay marriages a judge's duty, despite any personal beliefs? Yes No
Geena Belkofer Graytown “Getting married and the unexpected things associated with that... family, kids, whatever. It’s had its ups and downs, but after 29 years it was definitely worth it.”
Jill Stevens Genoa “I can’t go into specifics, but I’d say standing up for something or someone even if you have to stand alone. It’s definitely been the scariest thing I’ve ever done but it’s well worth it.”
Kyle Wolford Genoa “Having kids because it’s a giant responsibility. Life isn’t just about you anymore. My scariest by far is when our 5 month old daughter had a choking incident on a special new formula for her reflex.”
Bob Sondergeld Genoa “My wife and I were riding our motorscooters and I got to the gas station before her and when I looked back I saw her on the ground. She had been hit by a car and walking up to the accident is the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”
Tina Whitman Gibsonburg “Living as an alcoholic. I had a feeling of uselessness and self pity and I felt I was losing control and my life had become unmanageable. That is the scariest feeling I’ve ever had. I am grateful for my continued sobriety.”
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Last Week's Results Should S. Carolina lawmakers vote to remove the Confederate ƀag from the State House grounds? 57% No 43% Yes
Effort needs to be targeted, monitored to achieve success Life takes effort. Success takes effort. Suffering takes effort. Failure takes effort. Yet, “it takes too much effort,” is a constantly heard excuse for not even attempting something. Effort is required for happiness and success. However, just expending effort does not guarantee success, nor does more effort automatically accelerate your progress. The effort you put into life must be focused toward one or more specific goals. Otherwise your energy is scattered without producing any desired results. Before you are ready to provide effort, you must know what goals you are working toward. Next, you need a plan designed to attain your goals. Now you can put in the effort required to implement each step in your plan. Self-monitoring is used to ensure your effort is actually keeping you on track. It’s essential to immediately detect if and when you drift off course. Then you are able to take whatever corrective action is required to get you back in the right direction. Without effective self-monitoring, you run the risk of squandering effort by going
Dare to Live
by Bryan Golden in the wrong direction. Effort without results is a waste of time. But discovering something that doesn’t work as expected is not a waste of time, it is a learning experience which highlights what needs to be changed. Understanding the difference between productivity and activity is necessary for evaluating the effectiveness of your effort. You are productive whenever you are working toward a specific goal. You are active when your are busy with no goal in mind. The objective is devoting your efforts toward productive behavior. Utilizing the 80/20 principle helps keep your efforts productive. This principle states that 20 percent of your efforts produce 80 percent of your results. Analyze your behavior to determine cause
and effect relationships. Now focus on the efforts which generate the most results. Keep this principle in mind as you utilize self-monitoring to maximize your productivity. These strategies enable you to maximize the positive impact of your efforts. You want to work smart first, and then work hard at it. Intelligent application of focused effort accelerates your progress. Conversely, effort dispersed without direction drains you without moving you forward. Random effort scatters your energy. Whereas you are working hard, you are not working smart. Therefore, there are few, if any, results emanating from all of your hard work. You are drained with little or nothing to show. This scenario causes you measurable frustration leading to burnout. Your attitude suffers when you feel burned out. Since nothing has been accomplished, your outlook turns negative. You are then more likely to give up because you see no point continuing to toil. Once you give up, failure is ensured. In a situation where your efforts are not yielding the desired results, your strate-
gy needs to be reassessed. Identifying what changes are required is essential. You may need to adjust your focus. Perhaps a different course of action is appropriate. It’s even possible more effort is called for in order to overcome obstacles. As tempting as it may be, giving up is never a solution. The expenditure of effort is the basis for achievement. There are no shortcuts. You must be willing to do what is necessary, for as long as it takes to reach your objective. Anything worthwhile takes effort. The loftier your goals, the more effort you must devote. Expecting something for nothing wastes time. Keep your efforts concentrated on productive behavior. Since life takes effort, apply your effort towards success. NOW AVAILABLE: “Dare to Live Without Limits,” the book. Visit www. BryanGolden.com or your bookstore. Bryan is a management consultant, motivational speaker, author, and adjunct professor. E-mail Bryan at bryan@columnist.com or write him c/o this paper. 2015 Bryan Golden
Second chances in life are just as American as baseball By John Kiriakou I love baseball. I have since I was a kid. And I’m lucky to be married to a woman who loves the game as much as I do. We recently attended the 86th annual Major League All Star Game in Cincinnati. As part of the opening ceremonies, the Cincinnati Reds honored what they called the Franchise Four, the four greatest players in the team’s history: Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Barry Larkin, and Pete Rose. Bench, Morgan, and Larkin are members of professional baseball’s Hall of Fame. Rose, on the other hand, is banned from baseball for life. Despite being one of the greatest hitters and toughest players in the game’s history, he may never get this distinction. Why? Because he gambled. Rose admitted in the late 1980s that he’d bet on baseball games, including his own. Even though he bet on his team to win, and never threw a game, this broke
Letters
Guest Editorial baseball’s rules. The 50,000 fans in Cincinnati went completely crazy when Rose’s name was called. Hearing them chant “Hall of Fame! Hall of Fame!” as he walked out onto the field, I thought about second chances. I work in Washington, D.C. — the City of Second Chances. Just ask any politician caught cheating on his taxes, exposed for campaign finance fraud, or busted in an affair with an intern or underage page. They usually go before the voters, hat in hand, issue a mea culpa, and get on with their lives. Most of the time charges are never even filed. That’s true even in high-profile security cases.
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One way or the other To the editor: Recently, Toledo Municipal Court Judge C. Allen McConnell recused himself from presiding at a samesex marriage. Under the constitution and interpretation of the courts, he has the full right to do so. Our Founding Fathers established freedom of religion because they were forced to belong to the Church of England. They wanted the freedom to choose their own personal faith. This was the sole intent of the First Amendment concerning religion. Since then, our courts have interpreted that some of society’s religious beliefs, such as prayer in school and publicly displaying the Ten Commandments, violate the First Amendment. In essence, we cannot force the state to allow us to pray in schools, even though prayer is no particular religion.
This must go both ways, since the courts have established and interpreted the First Amendment to be anything related to faith, including prayer, that personally offends someone. Just as a person of faith cannot offend the conscience of the state, according to the courts, the state may not offend one’s faith conscience. Anyone with the authority to preside over or service a same-sex wedding cannot have his or her conscience offended by being forced to perform the service. This would violate freedom of religion as established by the courts. You cannot have it one way and not the other. This would be unjust and discriminatory against a person of faith. And, there are many others who are willing to perform these services. Steven R Cherry Oregon
Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, for example, was never charged for leaking the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame, whose husband had written a critical commentary of the last Bush administration. Scooter Libby, a former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted of four felonies related to the case. But thanks to President George W. Bush commuting his sentence, Libby didn’t serve a minute in prison. The same can’t be said for the 3,278 Americans serving life sentences without parole for non-violent crimes that can be remarkably petty — including stealing a jacket or serving as the middleman in a $10 marijuana transaction. Don’t they deserve a second chance? What about the hundreds of thousands of people currently incarcerated as nonviolent drug offenders? They make up half of all federal inmates. Shouldn’t they get a second chance too? A second chance for them might
mean keeping their families intact, saving their jobs, and sustaining their contributions to their communities. It might mean allowing them to maintain a relationship with their children or keep employing people in their businesses. It would also save taxpayers a bundle instead of wasting money to lock up people who aren’t dangerous. And Pete Rose — who still autographs baseballs with “I’m sorry I bet on baseball” — sure seems to have gotten a second chance from the people of Cincinnati, if not from Major League Baseball. It’s time to extend average Americans the same courtesy. Just as Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame, non-violent drug offenders belong at home with their families. OtherWords columnist John Kiriakou is an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. He’s a former CIA counterterrorism officer and former senior investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
NWO YOUTH OUTDOOR EXPO Wolf Creek Sportsmen’s Association 349 Teachout Road, Road Curtice Ohio 43412 Sponsoredby :
Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015 Sign in begins at 8 a.m. / Program starts at 8:30 a.m. A fun filled and FREE day to learn about outdoor sports.
This program is for those age 7 to 17 with an adult partner. The day’s activities include trap shooting, range shooting with .22 rifles, atlatl, archery and decoy painting. Lunch will be provided provided. Space is limited. Registrations must be received by Sept. 4, 2015 – no exceptions. Everyone must be pre-registered. For more information call Patsy at 419-261-3601